Comparison: What HD Lossless Music Service Choose

I had fun trying to compare the Tidal Versus Qobuz catalog on two major groups, namely Yes & Genesis.
Well, it’s not folichon in fact a lot of albums of the two aforementioned groups lacks the call and moreover a lot of quality CD and very little audio master.

Tidal or Qobuz.

Now I’m not sure what to choose. tidal or qobuz. ormis The intrinsic quality that these two protagonists of the dematerialized hi-fi can offer, I ask myself questions vis a respective catalog.
I mainly listen to progressive rock (Yes, Genesis, Camel, Jethro Tull, etc, etc. ), Rock jazz (Mahavishnu Orchestra, John McLaglin, Chick Coréa, Pat Metheny, etc. ) Metal (Iron Maiden, Metallica, AC/DC, etc, etc. ), basic rock, pop, classic.

I had fun trying to compare the Tidal Versus Qobuz catalog on two major groups, namely Yes & Genesis.
Well, it’s not folichon in fact a lot of albums of the two aforementioned groups lacks the call and moreover a lot of quality CD and very little audio master.

In short, I am very circumspect

Bretzellikid Messages: 609 Forum registration: June 07, 2010 9:32 Location: Moissy-Cramayel (77)

by Google »03 Dec 2021 12:47

Incont deleted for HCFR members

»03 Dec 2021 13:50:

And deezer ? 14 €/month in HIFI quality.

You have album lists that you can’t find ? I will watch on Deezer.

superjoke Messages: 520 Forum registration: Sep 22, 2006 8:45 PM Location: 92 South

»03 Dec 2021 16:08

I am currently looking for an audio streamer to plug into my home cinema anthem amp and I fell on your message.

If I understood everything I have read so far, to take advantage of the Master Audio quality on Tidal, the streamer decodes the MQA. Otherwise the files are read in CD quality !

According to the article file on Son-Video.com, the Cambridge Audio CXN V2 does not decode the MQA even if it integrates Tidal.
If this is the case, it would therefore not use you to take a Tidal Hifi Plus subscription.

This could therefore orient your choice.

kildaros Messages: 14 Forum registration: Apr 17, 2015 15:16

»04 Dec 2021 5:50

High resolution has never demonstrated its superiority over the CD-Audio listening. Technically, it is useful for recording and post-production, but not for listening. DACs are all capable of doing shamelessness to improve the digital analogical conversion of a CD. In practice, it is mainly used to please gullible customers and stand out from competitors

The MQA is a slightly special codec. It is used both to compress without loss of high resolution audio and to certify that the hires track is well in accordance with the original master’s degree (the A MQA means Authenticated and not audio). There has indeed been a lot of fraud in Hires files: cd oversampling or simple analog digitized copies

Personally, I advise my entourage to take a cheap streaming subscription (e.g. Spotify or Deezer) for discovery or listening to mobility and download files for music that we love and listen regularly.

If, despite everything, you want to have high quality streaming, then does not buy streamer ! This kind of machine is not very flexible and not very scalable because their reading app is incorporated into a firmware, updated according to the goodwill of their manufacturer and for a fairly short duration (2-3 years maximum). A smartphone or computer are much easier to update since it is enough to install apps. However, fierce competition between music streaming services pushes them to regularly modify their codecs, their subscriptions, etc.

Gailuron contributor HCFR 2020 Messages: 2578 Forum registration: 17 Feb 2003 0:01 Location: Paris (intra muros)

»04 Dec 2021 9:19

I am one of the gullible that hear a slight better on HRES files.
On the other hand, the MQA is not lossless.
Personally I have a sublime qobuz subscription and I stream in CD quality. The albums I like, I download them for the remuneration of artists and to avoid cuts.

Last edition by JG Naum on 04 Dec 2021 10:17, edited 2 times.

Hi-fi: NAS QNAP TS221, Transporter, Minidsp SHD, SONCOZ SGD1, Boxem 4215/E2, VIVID AUDIO B1, REL G2
HC: Pana EZ950, VIVID, MiniPod & Cinepod Selfyna, Pana UBD820, Yamaha RXA 1040

JG Naum Staffs Works & Multimedia
Messages: 7419 Forum registration: 12 Mar 2005 20:08 Location: Paris

»04 Dec 2021 10:14

Good morning,
After two and a half years of use of network readers, it is clear that I will not make the opposite path to the CD. These devices are very practical for use and it is possible to have a great quality. The DAC, integrated or external, is a key link that does a lot for the value of the source link. I noticed it between my first reader and my two current readers. I also suggest a reader who has your native streaming site.
I tried Qobuz and Tidal in parallel for a few weeks at the beginning, before fixing myself on Qobuz. Quality question I had not discerned much really different. Sharp ears can talk about it better than me. But a great advantage of Qobuz is to be able to buy the pieces at “friendly” prices to store them on a nas that at home is used for several facilities. The quality of the songs is very variable, depending on the quality of the master used, you have to listen in streaming before buying. And finally the Qobuz site is very friendly with lots of useful information to expand your personal palette.

My HC and Hifi installations in my profile.

Comparison: What HD Lossless Music Service Choose ?

While streaming services have often been satisfied with low-quality MP3 files for cost reasons, high-fidelity becomes a new trend to offer superior quality of users and real music lovers. You then have the choice among a wide range of Lossless streaming services, such as Amazon HD (Amazon Unlimited), Apple Music, Deezer Hi-Fi, Tidal or Qobuz. The latter all offer unlimited access to important high definition music catalogs. So what are the advantages and disadvantages of each service ? What HD music service should you choose ?

More than a decade after their arrival on the market, musical streaming services continue to attract more and more users thanks to the tens of millions of songs directly accessible from a smartphone, a player or ‘A connected hi-fi chain. With the development of broadband, fiber and 4G/5G, streaming services are always more efficient and many are now offering you HD, Lossless and Hi-Res Audio titles for optimal listening quality.

What is Lossless and Hi-Res music ?

In the early 2000s, the development of MP3 scanning facilitated the sharing of music, but to the detriment of audio quality, the fault of a destructive compression which eliminated musical information deemed little audible. Very often listening to music encoded in mp3, there is hardness, a lack of detail and subtlety, especially in the medium and the treble, which can quickly cause hearing fatigue.

Unlike MP3, Lossless and HI digital files preserve all the information from the records for more detailed and faithful listening.

More recently, the development of loss -free audio compression techniques and the possibility of storing large amounts of data now make it possible the encoding of high quality audio files. These are the FLAC, MQA or AAC files. The latter emphasize the fidelity and clarity of the recorded songs to find a quality of its truly high fidelity. When these files are encoded in 16 bits / 44.1 kHz, we are talking about CD quality. On the other hand, from a 24-bit / 96 kHz resolution, the file is said to be hi-resless. This first difference will make it possible to facilitate the ranking of the best HD music services, because they do not all broadcast in the same formats and the same resolution.

Comparison of Lossless services: File format and resolution

Tidal

In addition to the CD quality flows in 1411 kbps which constitute the essential of the Tidal offer, you can access the Hi-Fi package to a few million hi-restesses whose resolution can rise to 24 bits / 384 kHz (usually 24 bits / 96 kHz) . These files identified by the notion of Tidal Master on the platform are encoded in MQA (Master Quality Authenticated), a compression technology which makes it possible to produce an HD audio file whose size is 50 % lower than that of a traditional HD file. Tidal is currently the only music service to offer this encoding. It can therefore have a notable advantage if you frequently use the online music service outside your home, limiting network consumption. However, it is essential that the device on which Tidal is used is compatible with the MQA to take advantage of the best listening quality possible.

In addition to the CD and Tidal Master files of the Hi-Fi subscription, the streaming service also offers some very rare titles in Dolby Atmos since June 2020 to enjoy a more enveloping listening with a sound bar or a home cinema. Tidal is not the only service to offer such files, but it is among those that allow them to be used as best as possible thanks to its streaming application for Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV 4K, Nvidia Shield, as well as on Sony and Philips Android TV TV . The link of audio flows is therefore carried out live with the receiver. Finally, when listening with a compatible Sony helmet, the platform offers 360 Reality Audio titles .

Qobuz

Unlike other services which also offer MP3 according to the selected subscription, the catalog of the French service Qobuz is only available in HD, with minimum quality equivalent to the CD (16 bits / 44.1 kHz). The vast majority of the titles of the platform are in 24 -bit / 48 kHz flac and 24 bits / 96 kHz, even if more and more pieces are now available in 24 bits / 192 kHz. The choice of FLAC format, however, requires good network connection and implies greater consumption than with the MQA of Tidal. In case of download for listening in offline mode, the necessary storage space will also be more important.

Apple Music

Apple Music’s Lossless level starts CD quality, 16 bits / 44.1 kHz and goes up to 24 bits / 48 kHz, readable on Apple devices and most smartphones or Android tablets. For the most demanding audiophiles, Apple Music also offers Hi-Resolution Lossless quality up to 24 bits / 192 kHz, but the use of an external DAC or a compatible device is essential. For its HD service, Apple Music operates its owner format ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec). The latter promises to preserve each bit of the original audio file, but presents the disadvantage of being supported by a fewer number of devices compared to the flac used by Qobuz, Deezer Hi-Fi and Amazon Music.

Apple Music uses the ALAC owner format to provide listening quality up to 24 bits / 192 kHz.

With its subscription to € 9.99 per month, the apple brand also allows access to dolby atmos titles. To take advantage of it, Apple recommends using Apple Airpods and Apple Airpods Pro or the Apple Airpods Max headset to which it can diffuse a stereo file with software arrangements to extend spatialization. The effect is therefore less conclusive than a real multi-channel listening, in the same way as the 3D files of Amazon Music HD or Deezer Hi-Fi with the 360 ​​Reality Audio titles. On the other hand, it remains possible to take advantage of real dolby multichannel files using the Apple Music application from an Apple TV 4K connected directly to a home-cinema amp or an atmo compatible sound bar.

Amazon Music HD

The Amazon Music HD subscription also called Amazon Unlimited offers access to more than 75 million titles, including 50 million encoded in 16 -bit / 44.1 kHz CD quality with a flow of 850 kbps and several other million in Ultra HD ( up to 24 bits / 192 kHz). As with Qobuz, the FLAC is the format chosen for all files, from CD quality to hi-res.

With Amazon Music Ultra HD music, it is possible to benefit from 24 -bit / 192 kHz files with a speed of 3730 kbps.

As for Tidal and Apple Music, Amazon Music HD (Amazon Unlimited) also offers 3D masterized titles in Dolby Atmos and in 360 Reality Audio format of Sony. Listening to these is however only possible from an Amazon Echo Studio speaker. We cannot therefore take advantage of real atmospheric effects on all the speakers of a home cinema assembly or a sound bar like with Tidal.

Deezer Hi-Fi

Unlike other services, Deezer Hi-Fi HD streaming is limited to 16-bit / 44.1 kHz CD quality with a flow of 1411 kbps. Although the gain is still substantial and notable compared to MP3 files, the French service remains far behind the many hi-resters in 24 bits / 96 kHz, or even 192 kHz available from competitors. It is therefore not the best HD music service, especially since its subscription is more expensive than some competitors.

The table below summarizes the quality and format of the files for each of the services.

Flac up to 24 bits / 192 kHz

MP3 up to 320 kbps

MQA up to 24 bits / 384 kHz + Dolby Atmos

MP3 up to 320 kbps

Flac up to 16 bits / 44.1 kHz

Flac up to 24 bits / 192 kHz

Alac up to 24 bits / 192 kHz + Dolby Atmos

Comparison of Lossless music services: the price

Tidal

The Tidal service is founded in 2014 and bought a year later by Jay-Z and a collective of artists including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, Kanye West, Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. Their goal is to develop a streaming service which allows artists to express themselves freely, to publish their titles in preview and to be better paid than with traditional platforms. Access to more than 70 million titles available on Tidal can be made from several subscriptions. The most basic allows streaming in MP3 320 kHz for € 9.99 per month or € 4.99 for students. The firm also offers a family offer for € 14.99 monthly and with which it is possible to create up to 5 accounts. To access the HD music of the platform, it is necessary to pay slightly more: € 19.99 per month for a standard user, € 9.99 for a student or € 29.99 for a family of 5 people.

Qobuz

Pioneer of HD Studio Quality Sound, the French Qobuz service presents as main strength to offer only HD and hi-res music. To access its catalog counting to date more than 70 million titles, with all the majors and all the self -employed, the tricolor service offers two subscriptions: first studio at € 14.99 per month for a one year commitment (29 , 16 € for a family subscription) or sublime studio at € 20.83 per month (€ 41.66 for the family subscription). These two subscriptions offer unlimited streaming of music up to 24 bits / 192 kHz, but the sublime studio offer allows you to enjoy preferential rates on hi-res shopping. More than a streaming service, Qobuz is also an online HD music sales platform. This second offer can therefore be interesting to listen to music on a device not compatible with Qobuz or not connected to the network.

Apple Music

After having revolutionized the way of consuming music with the iPod then the sale of titles per unit, Apple launched its music service on demand in 2015. Very recently, the firm from Cupertino has changed this service by offering lossless quality for € 9.99 per month for a user or € 14.99 for the whole family. All Apple Music subscribers can therefore benefit since June 2021 from a superior listening quality, without additional costs.

Amazon Unlimited

The American giant Amazon launched its Amazon Music HD service in October 2019 at the initial price of 14.99 euros. As soon as Apple Music arrives in this sector, Jeff Bezos’ firm countered by reducing the price of its HD subscription to align with that of the apple. It is therefore now possible to benefit unlimited from the entire high resolution catalog for only € 9.99 per month or € 14.99 for the whole family.

Deezer Hi-Fi

Another French competitor, Deezer has a catalog of titles just as provided as other services, but presents some exclusives such as Deezer Sessions (private mini-concerts). The classic offer for an MP3 streaming at 320 kbits is € 9.99 for a single account, € 4.99 for a student and € 14.99 for a family of 6 members. For HD streaming in CD quality, the subscription is € 14.99 per month or € 19.99 for the whole family.

The table below summarizes the most attractive subscription formulas for each of the services.

€ 14.99 (24 bits / 192 kHz)

€ 29.83 (24 bits / 192 kHz)

€ 9.99 (MP3 320 kbits)

€ 19.99 (24 bits / 384 kHz)

€ 29.99 (24 bits / 384 kHz)

€ 9.99 (MP3 320 kbits)

€ 14.99 (16 bits / 44.1 kHz)

€ 19.99 (16 bits / 44.1 kHz)

€ 9.99 (24 bits / 192 kHz)

€ 14.99 (24 bits / 192 kHz)

€ 9.99 (24 bits / 192 kHz)

€ 14.99 (24 bits / 192 kHz)

Comparison of Lossless services: compatible applications and devices

Tidal

Tidal has an intuitive and well -designed mobile application. It offers an experience very close to that provided by the application of Spotify, which allows regulars of the Swedish platform to quickly find their habits. On the home page, we have personalized recommendations and playlists according to our listening tastes and habits. These recommendations are always very relevant and it is rare to be disappointed. We can then navigate through different tabs to access the clips of artists, our favorites or even many thematic selections. Quick access to all Tidal Master titles is also possible. Finally, we have the possibility since the Tidal application to broadcast music directly in Bluetooth, Chromecast or Airplay on house connected devices.

Tidal’s mobile application is well designed and offers a user experience very close to that provided by Spotify.

Rapper Jay-Z’s musical service is also integrated into many amplifiers, network players and wireless speakers. This is notably the case with Bluesound, Denon and Marantz compatible, Sonos, Kef or even Ruark Audio devices to name a few. The use of Tidal on these various devices varies from one brand to another. With Denon and Marantz, it is essential to go through the Heos application in which the use of Tidal is less user -friendly than the dedicated application, but remains intuitive enough for daily use. With other devices such as Sonos connected speakers, it is possible to take advantage of the Tidal Connect option to directly control music from the official Tidal application. On the other hand, it is important to note that all the devices with integrated Tidal are not necessarily compatible MQA. In this case, the quality is less, even with the Tidal Hi-Fi subscription.

Qobuz

The tricolor service Qobuz has the advantage of authorizing listening to music in different ways, whether from its mobile application for iOS and Android, its application for Mac and Windows or from its web interface. Whatever the method chosen, the interface remains generally similar. We are welcomed by the “Discover” tab in which Qobuz presents its latest editorial content, as well as its new features and playlists. On the other hand, the recommendations are not as relevant as with other services and mainly emphasize classic styles and jazz, rather than our personal tastes. We do not have categories bringing together all the playlists by genres. On the other hand, it remains possible to discover these from the Research tab, but there are fewer than with competing services.

Qobuz has the advantage of being available on mobile, internet browser and computer. The recommendations are mainly focused on jazz and classic.

Qobuz is most certainly the most established hi res service on amplifiers, network players or connected speakers. Many brands like Yamaha, Elipson, Cabasse, Bluesound, Audio Pro or Cambridge trust this service. Qobuz does not have a Connect function, however, which means that it is necessary to go through the application specific to each brand to access music. The features are then generally lower than with the official Qobuz application.

Amazon Music HD

Amazon Unlimited presents a really convincing web interface and mobile application. On the home page of stations and personalized recommendations. These are always relevant and we enjoy discovering new titles and artists. The algorithm behind these selections is particularly stunning and identifies our tastes very well after only a few minutes in the application. It is on this point that AMAZON MUSIC HD is really taking its end of the game.

The recommendations offered by the Amazon Music application are among the most relevant, just like those of Apple Music.

Amazon Music HD is integrated into many domestic audio devices, including the hi-fi and Home-Cinema Denon and Marantz connected amplifiers, Sonos and Bose connected speakers or the bars of its Yamaha and Samsung, for example. All these devices often allow you to order reading directly via a connection to Amazon Music from the manufacturer’s application.

Apple Music

As always with the apple firm, the Apple Music mobile application available for iOS, Android and Mac displays a minimalist design and is very simple to use. You can navigate between several tabs to access the different rankings, your musical library, radios or even many recommendations. When registering for the service, Apple Music requests some information on your favorite genres and artists, so that recommendations based on algorithm very similar to that of Genius are relevant and reliable from the first use of the platform. Apple Music also has the advantage of being the service offering the most playlists. They are countless, well organized and frequently updated.

Apple Music has a mobile and computer application with a fluid, intuitive interface and always relevant recommendations.

Having appeared more recently, Apple Music is naturally integrated into a more limited number of devices. Its expansion seems however to accelerate lately, with the provision of the service on the speakers and bars of its sonos, certain bluesound elements or even the audio audio connected speakers. From an Apple device, it is also possible to diffuse music to any AirPlay 2 compatible device. On the other hand, the maximum accepted quality is then in 16 bits and 48 kHz. It is therefore not possible to exploit all the hi-res files of Apple Music via this mode of transmission.

Deezer Hi-Fi

Listening to Deezer Hi-Fi can be done from a web interface, an application for Windows or Mac or from the mobile application for iOS and Android. The interface of these different readers is pleasant and we browse easily between podcasts, music and favorites (artists, albums, titles, compilations, etc.)). The playlists are numerous and some are personalized. Listening recommendations are quite relevant, but may not be as good as those of Apple Music or Amazon HD.

Deezer authorizes listening to music from its mobile application, for computer, as well as from its web interface.

Many devices are compatible with Deezer, but not all of them read files in CD quality. It is therefore essential to opt for a Deezer Hi-Fi certified system, as is the case with many Amazon Echo or Sonos equipment, for example. For more simplicity, Deezer Hifi is compatible with most of the Chromecast products products after 2015. To start listening to music in CD quality, simply select the Chromecast button.

The table below summarizes the quality and format of the files for each of the services.

Service	Mobile app	Computer application	Web player	Compatible device
	Qobuz compatible devices
	Tidal compatible devices
Deezer compatible devices
	Amazon Music compatible devices
	Apple Music compatible devices

What streaming service offers the best listening quality ?

Listening, Tidal won the battle of HD music services in terms of quality and precision with titles up to 24 bits / 384 kHz. No other service currently offers such a high resolution. The use of an external DAC, a network player or an audiophile player is however essential to take advantage of these files. With a suitable system, Tidal offers a little more opening on certain titles. Listening is quite analytical, dynamic and very detailed.

With equivalent resolution, Qobuz seems to display a little more clarity and presence in the treble. The rope instruments offer a hint of reverberation and additional textures compared to other services. This clarity gain also benefits micro-details which seem to be better detached from the rest of the scene. Regarding Amazon Music, the service is a little more focused on voices, which can be an advantage or a drawback depending on the titles. On classic or jazz, Qobuz is a little better, while Amazon Music defends very well on the variety. It is therefore above all a matter of musical tastes.

For the Cupertino firm, the titles available on Apple Music display a subtly more soaked character in the bass, which should not displease fans of pop lovers. On the other hand, the enthusiasm is more moderate on the songs in Dolby Atmos when listening with a non -Apple helmet. With these, the whole scene is enhanced and balance loses its naturalness. The bass is less deep and seem distant, just like the voices which are less well centered and distant. Paradoxically, the scene is more narrow and each detail stands out less well. During an AirPlay 2 broadcast on a Home-Cinema 5 system.1.2 channels with upscaling by the amplifier, listening also seemed more natural to us with only the amplifier upscaling atmospheries, rather than the Apple Music Atmos mode.

To really take advantage of these multichannel files, it is necessary to use the Apple Music application from an Apple TV 4K directly connected to a home cinema or a sound bar. In this case, music is really transmitted to Dolby Atmos and listening is transformed. The sound wins in magnitude, with much more space between each instrument, which makes it possible to grasp the details more effectively. The voices are closer and take advantage of an interesting height, as if the artist stood before us. Dolby Atmos seems to bring a live and live side to music. Certain instruments such as the piano are better embodied and the resonances coming from Atmos speakers on the ceiling give the impression of being in the middle of a privatized concert hall just for us. The result is particularly convincing and the Dolby Atmos in musical listening seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

Coupled with a home cinema or a sound bar, the Apple TV 4K is ideal for enjoying music in Dolby Atmos from Tidal and Apple Music.

What is the best HD music service ?

The battle of HD music services is tough and each platform displays its own advantages and disadvantages. At the time of writing this comparison, Tidal is the service offering the highest quality of listening, with files up to 24 bits / 384 kHz, against a maximum resolution of 24 bits / 192 kHz for Qobuz, Apple Music and Amazon Music HD or even worse 16 bits / 44.1 kHz for Deezer Hi-Fi. To reach this high quality, Tidal however exploits the MQA format, which involves having an audio DAC, a network player, a connected amplifier or a audiophile player compatible with this format, otherwise the quality is equivalent to a CD.

An MQA compatible audiophile player like the Fiio M11 Plus is essential to fully enjoy Tidal.

The application interface also plays a decisive role in choosing a Lossless music service. As such, Tidal, Apple Music and Amazon Music are at the top of the list, with a friendly, intuitive application and relevant recommendations. Apple Music and Amazon Music platforms are even more attractive with the real -time display of the words of the music, with the possibility of launching a title from the verse of his choice.

Apple Music’s interface is friendly, with a display of the words of music being read.

Finally, Tidal and Apple Music are really pulling out of the game by offering real Dolby Atmos files for more immersive and innovative listening with a network player and a home cinema system or a sound bar. In this area, the two services are equal, with overall similar listening, very close thematic playlists and almost the same Atmos files. The different albums and compatible playlists Dolby Atmos are however better highlighted on the Apple platform.

For all these reasons, we understand that it is difficult to elect the best HD music service. This is very variable depending on your needs and especially your equipment. In addition, nothing is frozen and the battle between the various services is not about to stop. Regular applications updates, the integration of new technologies and the evolution of algorithms of the recommendations can in particular reverse the balance.